Written by Faye Allego Wishing It Was Sunday is not only an impressive debut album; it is a cohesive album that explores the coming of age, but not in a deep, intricate, or deleterious way. Cinema Lumiere, derived from the Lumiere brothers whom of which invented cinematography, stay true to their band name– they create cinematic music that assimilates the true essence of the Slice of Life idiom. When listening to this record in one sitting, you’re guaranteed to feel some ear tingles every time a xylophone is used in a track. It’s a record that you can listen to at any time of day, whether you’re sitting in a library and cannot be arsed to create a study playlist, or when you’ve finally succumbed to your main character syndrome and all that’s missing now is your very own OST. The theme of coming of age along with melodies that sound very Slice of Life are most prominent in tracks like “Longing For You” and the first track which shares the same title as the album. Tracks like “Like A Dream,” “Into The Sun,” and “Act Happy” also seem to follow inspiration from Japanese dream pop where airy vocals mixed with stretched-out, lushful synths create an atmosphere similar to the 80s music scene. It is also worth noting that the terrific album art is an illustration that takes place in Japan; you can see a young adult holding a Japanese Koinobori Kites that are typically brought outside during the months of April and May (spring), symbolizing and representing children, childhood, and childlike ambition or perseverance. On the first listen, I questioned if Wishing It Was Sunday was the type of album that you play in the background to muffle the silence in your surroundings. Looking at Cinema Lumiere’s only existing music video on YouTube, I wanted to see the visuals of the tunes that they make. Could “Change of Heart” have a Wong Kar Wai-inspired music video made on an old digicam? Or is it up to me, the listener, to decide what visuals I want to associate this album with? I asked myself: do your conversations with friends overpower the music? Or does this album make you want to stop and just listen? After a few adventures outside with only this album on the loop, I think the latter question is the easiest to answer. Yes, I want to stop, close my eyes, and listen. Support the art & the artist:
Tag: Jangle Pop
ALBUM REVIEW: Memory Drawers – Memory Drawers
Written by Faye Allego Picture this: It’s 2014, your entire personality is based on photos of succulents with a VSCO app filter that is reblogged on your Tumblr page, a poster of Unknown Pleasures hanging by a thread (in this case, tape that has lost its purpose of sticking on the wall above your bed), and your element of mystique is buried with every emotion that bedroom music playlist makes you feel. Although the pleasure of being an angsty, indie-music-centered-teenager back then is a well-known phenomenon, Memory Drawers seems to bring back that unique feeling of individuality and whimsicality in their long-awaited debut album. It goes without saying that this album perfectly fits in the dreamscape milieu of Indie Pop. The lyrics, composed by Kevin Ingco and Paula Castillo, read like a prologue to a retrospective novel about one’s memories of youth that were never to be just written in a diary tucked away in a drawer. Found in the final couplet of Lovingly, Andrea Alegre sings: “Didn’t think, didn’t think I’d hear a word/ Said ‘There’s nothing left for me, in this world, in this world.” This alone uses repetition in a way that isn’t – for lack of a better word – repetitive to hear. This track along with others such as Luuv and Esc Esc Esc feels like changing the color of my laptop’s cursor to black and opening a blank document to write whatever I want at the expense of depression and for the sake of expression. However, I find myself asking if every track creates cohesion to the album and builds an overall narrative, or if it is just a polished compilation of their past, tempting the listener for upcoming endeavors that may sound even better in that said dreamscape milieu. Nearly a decade has passed by since Hart found its way as the first track of Memory Drawers. The original version first appeared on SoundCloud and was later revamped to fit the precision found in Ingco’s mixing, and the mastering by Diego Mapa. The same can be said for the following track, Maybe, originally released in 2016. I hesitated at the thought of these songs resurrecting on the debut album instead of leaving them as hidden gems to be found on their own. The last track, …For Any Of This, was also previously released as a single but now acts as a beautiful epilogue through its upbeat nature that makes you feel like you’re knee-deep into the night; as if Ingco and Castillo along with Alegre’s voice planted a Whomping Willow that would later produce seeds for a mystifying glowing Willow throughout all these years (not to mention the album art looks like a tree’s growth rings). This is the “upcoming endeavor” I mentioned earlier. Indeed, I yearn to hear more.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Geeks – Sitcom Theme Songs
The Geeks hit their stride with their latest release – Sitcom Theme Songs! While their last EP “Weirdly! Relatable! Content!” explored the use of warmth by using tapes to re-record the EP, this album sees the band embrace contrast by singing about lost people and places brought about by the pandemic while having a trumpet section in the unofficial pandemic anthem “All My Favorite Songs”. Who else can talk about impending doom while using a cowboy aesthetic – complete with gallop foley – in the aptly named “Tragic Cowboy Theme Song” not to mention the eerie tunes found in “Mags’ Existential Crisis”. The band still touches upon topics consistent with their previous releases – self-doubt, lost romance, nihilism, existential crisis – but this time with more life in the instrumentation. Slow songs are less frequent now and replaced by more danceable pieces. These are also more singable but beware the despair of singing lyrics like “I’m dead all over again” or “Annabell, I think that you are going to hell”. There were also some interesting choices in the album. Aside from the cowboy-esque song, the use of a guitar slide in some songs jump out and add more fun to songs in a move that is not regularly seen outside of the blues. Also prominent in this release is the use of more vocal features such as Jillian of Formerly Maryknoll in “The Song of Yesteryear” who adds a bit more depth in the storytelling – providing the perspective of a partner. Multiple guests were also featured in “The Score” to emphasize the collective and ubiquitous experience of having doubt in a relationship. It’s been hard to put into words how great this album is – it’s the Geeks at what I think are their peak form. As a fan of happy and upbeat music, It’s funny to hear songs that talk about finding excuses for failure and self-sabotage but with instrumentals that make me want to bop my head. If you are a fan of the band, you’ll love this release and if you are not familiar, give it a listen and get lost in the happy-sounding sad songs. Support the art & the artist: